omes a region of countless islands,
separated by expanses of water--but not open water, as forest trees
appear growing out of it in all directions; while in other parts there
are numbers of lakes of all sizes--some many miles in extent, others
mere pools, dry in summer, but all abounding in fish of various sorts,
in turtles and alligators. We could often, in consequence of the
flooded state of the country, make short cuts in our canoe directly
through the forest, in some places with a depth of five to ten feet
below our keels.

As we were paddling on through a scene such as I have described, we
passed near a raft secured to the trunks of four trees, on which was an
Indian family, with a small fire burning on it. The mother was cooking
fish, while the father lay in his hammock suspended between the trees.
A small, crazy looking canoe was moored to it. The family appeared
perfectly contented and unconcerned, and accustomed to the curious mode
of life. Pedro told us they were Muras Indians. During the dry season
they live on the sand-banks, employed in catching turtle in the large
river; and when the rainy season sets in they retire to these solitudes,
whence they sally forth in their canoes to catch manatees and turtle,
and fish of many sorts. We were proceeding away from the main stream by
a broad water-path, with numberless narrower paths leading off in all
directions. During the first part of our voyage we could see for a
considerable distance through the irregular colonnade of trees; but as
we progressed the path became narrower, and the trees grew closer
together, their boughs frequently stretching forth over our heads. From
many of them beautiful bright yellow flowers hung down, the stems
several feet in length, while ferns and numerous air-plants thickly
covered the trunks of the palms or drooped over from their summits. Now
and then we passed through a thicket of bamboos, their slender foliage
and gracefully-curving stems having arranged themselves in the most
elegant feathery bowers. Crossing through the forest, we passed a grove
of small palms, their summits being but a few feet above us. They bore
bunches of fruit, which our Indians cut off with their knives. We found
it of an agreeable flavour. The birds feeding overhead now and then
sent down showers of fruit, which splashed into the water round us.
Frequently we heard a rustling in the leaves, and caught sight in many
places of troops of monkeys